http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 02 Mar 2014 21:17:40 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/loadout-s-billions-of-weapon-configurations-bring-in-two-million-players-in-two-weeks/1100-6418053/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447067-3117600593-24213.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447067" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447067-3117600593-24213.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447067"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2447067-3117600593-24213.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Over two million users signed up for free-to-play shooter <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/loadout/">Loadout</a> in its first 14 days of release, logging in over 9 million hours in the game, developer Edge of Reality has announced.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The developer said that Loadout has been so popular that it made getting into the game difficult on day one. Edge of Reality has since improved its infrastructure, but is still having trouble meeting demand.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Loadout's most notable feature is its weapon-crafting system, with over "44 billion possible variations" for players to assemble, allowing them to define their own class and play style.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The incredible surge of interest at launch shattered all our expectations, and it unfortunately just became too much for our servers to handle in the beginning," Edge of Reality CEO Rob Cohen said in a press release. "Very few Steam titles have reached the peak concurrent users we achieved upon release. We're committed to delivering an excellent game to our community, and we continue to work hard to ensure that our servers provide all our players with the same fluid, responsive, and enjoyable experience across the board."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/loadout-review/1900-6415663/">Our review</a> found that Loadout stands out against other shooters with its humor, entertaining multiplayer modes, and addictive weapon-crafting system.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417008" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417008/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com<br /></a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 16:35:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/loadout-s-billions-of-weapon-configurations-bring-in-two-million-players-in-two-weeks/1100-6418053/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-might-get-a-dlc-season-pass-pilot-only-mode-could-come-after-launch/1100-6418043/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446727-5179501631-24458.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446727" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446727-5179501631-24458.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446727"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446727-5179501631-24458.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Tonight during a special Microsoft Store event in Connecticut, <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> developer Respawn Entertainment explained that the upcoming game could get a DLC season pass and teased that a pilot-only mode may come sometime after launch.</p><p style="">Respawn community manager Abbie Heppe said cofounder <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-won-t-have-a-season-pass-or-split-screen-but-it-might-include-some-dinosaurs/1100-6418026/" data-ref-id="1100-6418026">Vince Zampella's tweet this week about the game not having a season pass</a> was a mistake. She clarified tonight that the game won't have an <em><strong>online pass</strong></em>, but said the company has nothing to announce--at least right now--regarding a <em><strong>season pass</strong></em>. Electronic Arts <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-killing-online-passes-for-existing-games/1100-6409065/" data-ref-id="1100-6409065">did away with online passes last year</a>.</p><p style="">A tweet from the official Titanfall Twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/Titanfallgame/status/439452664166752256" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">apologizes for the confusion</a>.</p><p style="">The season pass would presumably include access to various Titanfall DLC packs at a discounted rate compared to buying them individually. Though Respawn has yet to announce firm plans for post-release support for Titanfall, the developer said previously that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dlc-in-planning-stages-could-evolve-with-players/1100-6417412/" data-ref-id="1100-6417412">DLC for the game was in the planning stages</a>. Titanfall is a major multiplayer shooter, so significant add-on content should be expected.</p><p style="">Also during the special event tonight at the Westfarms Mall in West Hartford, Conn. Heppe said though a pilot-only multiplayer mode for Titanfall won't be available at release, "we'll see what happens after launch." The chief intrigue of Titanfall is its pilots vs. mechs gameplay, so a pilots-only mode would be a surprise.</p><p style="">Titanfall launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-launching-march-11-2014/1100-6415710/" data-ref-id="1100-6415710">March 11</a> for Xbox One and PC, with an Xbox 360 version--developed externally at Bluepoint Games--to follow on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-for-xbox-360-delayed/1100-6417577/" data-ref-id="1100-6417577">March 25</a>. Microsoft is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-throwing-huge-titanfall-launch-party-in-texas/1100-6418024/" data-ref-id="1100-6418024">throwing a huge party in Texas</a> to mark the game's release.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417279" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417279/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 16:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-might-get-a-dlc-season-pass-pilot-only-mode-could-come-after-launch/1100-6418043/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/play-batman-vs-superman-vs-many-other-dc-characters-in-infinite-crisis-open-beta-on-march-14/1100-6418052/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447034-3596726564-617px.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447034" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447034-3596726564-617px.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447034"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2447034-3596726564-617px.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The DC Comics multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/infinite-crisis/">Infinite Crisis</a> will start its open beta on March 14, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Turbine have announced.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Warner Bros. also said that it's adding three new Champions to the game: Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Mecha Superman. That brings Infinite Crisis to a total of 27 playable characters by the time the open beta begins.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Infinite Crisis is set across the 52 universes of the DC multiverse. So far Turbine has shown steampunk and post-apocalyptic-themed stages and characters. The newly announced Mecha Superman, a gigantic robot constructed of a crashed Kryptonian space probe, is a fine example of some of the more esoteric DC characters in the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Much like in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/league-of-legends/">League of Legends</a>, Infinite Crisis is free-to-play, giving you access to six Champions, three of which rotate out for new champions weekly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Turbine, which was founded in 1994 and is also responsible for MMO <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-online-helms-deep/">The Lord of the Rings Online</a>, recently announced some <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/layoffs-at-lord-of-the-rings-online-and-infinite-crisis-developer/1100-6417708/">layoffs at the studio</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417432" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417432/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 14:16:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/play-batman-vs-superman-vs-many-other-dc-characters-in-infinite-crisis-open-beta-on-march-14/1100-6418052/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/state-of-decay-lifeline-puts-you-in-control-of-the-military/1100-6418051/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446962-4693700544-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446962" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446962-4693700544-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446962"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446962-4693700544-20418.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Lifeline, the upcoming expansion for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/state-of-decay/">State of Decay</a>, will put you in control of a military unit with new objectives and abilities, developer Undead Labs announced on <a href="http://undeadlabs.com/2014/02/news/in-the-army-now/" rel="nofollow">its blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You'll control Greyhound One, a small military unit sent to the city of Danforth to rescue scientists whose research is critical to fighting the zombie outbreak. The game will start at the height of the crisis, when you still have access to off-map support from the military, but support will diminish with time as the situation deteriorates. This is opposite the progression structure in the original game, where you start off small and become increasingly stronger as you recruit more people and gather resources.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One of your first objectives will be to secure a landing zone and base where you can receive supply drops and extract civilians, a new goal in the game. Lifeline will also add new military facilities, defenses, weapons, and a new map.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"In zombie fiction, the military is often the go-to bad guy," Undead Labs said. "They're the hammer to which every problem is a nail, blindly mowing everything down to serve some unknown goal. But this view is fairly one-sided and naïve. On the State of Decay team, we have a different perspective (some of us firsthand) — the military is made up of many good men and women who stand on the line that divides safety and civilization from chaos and war."</p><p style="">Earlier this year, Undead Labs confirmed that it had signed a multi-year, multi-title agreement to extend its development relationship with Microsoft, leading to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/state-of-decay-dev-extends-partnership-with-microsoft/1100-6417066/">speculation of a possible State of Decay sequel</a>. For more on the game, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/state-of-decay/">GameSpot's review</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415049" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415049/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 13:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/state-of-decay-lifeline-puts-you-in-control-of-the-military/1100-6418051/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/advantage-ps4-why-sony-is-winning-the-console-war/1100-6418034/ <p style="">Just in case you're someone who's inclined to read the title of this opinion piece, skim the first paragraph, and then jump straight to the comments section, this is not a doom-and-gloom message for Microsoft. The Xbox One is selling really well, the Microsoft games division isn't about to go out of business, and the launch of the Xbox One has not been a complete disaster (though it's been a small one). But the Xbox One is in second place, and that's where it's going to stay for this console cycle.</p><p style=""> </p><p style="">Closer to the next-gen launch, I wrote about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-and-ps4-sales-numbers-don-t-matter-right-now-but-you-don-t-care/1100-6416542/">why the sales numbers didn't really matter</a>. Both the Xbox One and PS4 broke records out of the gate (mostly because more systems were initially available than at any previous console launch). But we knew back at the start of 2013 that consumers had a more positive perception of the PlayStation 4, and the chart below shows that the gulf in purchase intent between Microsoft and Sony's machine only grew larger prior to the systems' launches.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446941-7489552606-23953.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446941" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446941-7489552606-23953.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446941"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2446941-7489552606-23953.png"></a></figure><p style="">Those statistics were surprising, since, looking back on "last-gen," the Xbox 360 was always a clear front-runner in the US. But the above chart makes a little more sense when looking at the trajectory of the PS3. Neither Sony nor Microsoft release monthly console sales numbers, but while the Xbox 360 sold more units overall than the PS3 in the US in 2013. However, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-360-sales-reach-80-million-units/1100-6415644/">Sony broke Microsoft's 32-month first-place home console streak back in September of last year.</a></p><p style="">And those projections have so far proven to be accurate. While both next-gen consoles started out strong in November, the PS4 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-nearly-doubles-sales-of-the-xbox-one-in-the-us-in-january/1100-6417739/">nearly doubled sales of the Xbox One in January.</a> And with the PS4 now <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sold-320-000-units-in-japan-in-two-days/1100-6417944/">out in Japan and off to a solid start</a>, that gulf between Sony and Microsoft is only going to grow wider. Microsoft still has no set date for bringing their console to Japan, which doesn't <i>necessarily</i> mean they'll be outsold over there, but Microsoft has generally faced an uphill battle in Japan. Even the <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-26-wii-u-has-finally-overtaken-xbox-360-in-japan" rel="nofollow">Wii U is outperforming Microsoft's current Xbox 360 console in total sales</a>, which doesn't present a very rosy picture for future Japanese success. [Note: I still think the Wii U is a pretty great machine, but even <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-we-are-to-blame-for-poor-wii-u-sales/1100-6410425/">Nintendo has spoken out on its much lower than expected sales.]</a></p><p style="">Some (namely <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kinect-less-xbox-one-doesn-t-sound-very-likely/1100-6417933/">Microsoft</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-on-ps4-vs-xbox-one-its-a-marathon-not-a-sprint/1100-6415109/">Sony</a>) argue that console sales are a marathon, not a sprint, and getting an initial lead doesn't guarantee success. After all, the Xbox 360 had a year head start, yet the PS3 has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-3-crosses-80-million-sales/1100-6415987/">matched the Xbox 360 in total global sales</a>. But in any race, not everyone can be first, and for this generation of consoles, that honor is going to PS4. Here's why it happened, and in the end, why it'll actually make the Xbox better next time.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446945-8395119755-19907.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446945" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446945-8395119755-19907.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446945"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2446945-8395119755-19907.jpg"></a></figure><h3>The Games</h3><p style="">Sony has the potential for more exciting exclusive games than Microsoft.</p><p style="">Sure, <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> is getting a lot of hype right now for the Xbox One, but you have to use "exclusive" in a pretty broad sense--the game is also going to be out on 360 and PC. And developer Respawn is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-says-titanfall-sequels-could-come-to-playstation/1100-6416274/">keeping their options open for the inevitable Titanfall 2</a>.</p><p style="">But recently, Microsoft hasn't had a great track record with getting games that no other system has. The only notable exclusive for the Xbox 360 last year was <a href="/gears-of-war-judgment/" data-ref-id="false">Gears of War: Judgment</a>. And we'll inevitably have some more <a href="/halo-4/" data-ref-id="false">Halo</a> (although the original developer, Bungie, is now working on the multiplatform shooter <a href="/destiny/" data-ref-id="false">Destiny</a>). And the long-time favorite Fable series has more in the works (<a href="/fable-legends/" data-ref-id="false">Fable: Legends</a>), but the developer has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/peter-molyneux-quits-microsoft/1100-6364912/">lost their original creative director, Peter Molyneux</a>.</p><p style="">The best games for both the PS4 and Xbox One at launch were multiplatorm, but the PS3 last year had <a href="/beyond-two-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Beyond</a>, <a href="/dragons-crown/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon's Crown</a>, <a href="/puppeteer/" data-ref-id="false">Puppeteer</a>, and award-winning <a href="/the-last-of-us/" data-ref-id="false">The Last of Us</a>. It's impossible to know what new franchises both Sony and Microsoft will show at this year's E3, but with Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games, Sucker Punch Productions, ThatGameCompany, and more, Sony already has the advantage in strong-performing internal studios. [Editor's Note: While ThatGameCompany has currently only produced games for Sony consoles, they remain an independent developer.]</p><p style=""> </p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446942-9462592168-PlayS.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446942" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446942-9462592168-PlayS.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446942"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2446942-9462592168-PlayS.jpg"></a></figure><h3>Services</h3><p style="">Ultimately, Microsoft banked on a future that most people don't care as much about: controlling your entertainment center with the power of your voice. For me personally, that's not a system seller; it's a novelty that only works perfectly 60% of the time and makes me want to use a physical controller every time it doesn't understand me. PlayStation, on the other hand, has focused on games.</p><p style="">And nowhere is that clearer than their subscription services. If you want to play online with either the PS4 or Xbox One, you'll need to pay a fee. But with PlayStation, you also get access to a library of free games. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-plus-free-games-of-march-for-ps4-ps3-and-vita/1100-6417993/">The offerings are significantly better on PS3 than PS4</a>, but for a PlayStation owner, the service almost pays for itself. Compare that to Xbox's Game with Gold, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/and-microsoft-s-free-xbox-360-games-for-march-are/1100-6418029/">offers much older titles for the Xbox 360</a> and still doesn't have any option for the Xbox One.</p><p style="">And <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/everything-we-know-about-playstation-now-so-far/1100-6417069/">PlayStation is rolling out a service that will bring PS3 titles to the PS4</a>. If the price is wrong, this will be a complete disaster, but the right mix of convenience, game selection, and price could potentially convince even more current PS3 owners to upgrade. Meanwhile Microsoft has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-full-power-of-xbox-one-not-yet-realized/1100-6416569/">talked a lot about integrating the cloud</a> into their strategy, but they've has been quiet on any plans similar to Sony's that would give players access to their back catalog of 360 and XBLA games on Xbox One.</p><h3>Performance</h3><p style="">The general perception is that the PlayStation is more powerful than the Xbox One. Hardware-wise, they're <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-vs-ps4-spec-difference-is-fairly-marginal-microsoft-says/1100-6417138/">not that different</a>, but <a href="/metal-gear-solid-ground-zeroes/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes</a> developer Kojima <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/resolutiongate-strikes-again-metal-gear-solid-v-ground-zeroes-said-to-look-better-on-ps4/1100-6417529/">says his game will look better on PS4</a>. And there's been a lot of argument around games like <a href="/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a> that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infinity-ward-cod-ghosts-is-720p-on-xbox-one-1080p-on-ps4/1100-6415873/">run natively in 1080p on PS4 vs. 720p on Xbox One.</a> Of course, the Xbox <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wolfenstein-the-new-order-is-1080p-60fps-on-xbox-one-and-ps4/1100-6417992/">can run games in 1080p and 60fps</a>, but with multiple titles coming in with lower native resolution on Xbox, Microsoft's machine has been publicly perceived as less powerful. We saw with the original Wii that more powerful hardware doesn't necessarily affect sales negatively--but Nintendo also had an amazing slate of exclusive first-party games for their system (like <a href="/super-mario-galaxy/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Galaxy</a>, <a href="/wii-sports/" data-ref-id="false">Wii Sports</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/mario-kart-wii/">Mario Kart Wii</a>). But when the experiences and games are almost identical like on Xbox One and PS4, people will gravitate to what seems like the better system for the money.</p><p style="">And that brings up the biggest deciding factor: price--the PS4 sells for $100 less than its competitor. When the core experience is perceived as being about the same (or slightly in favor of the lower-cost option) the less expensive choice is going to win out. Microsoft has even already <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-price-cut-to-ps399-99-in-the-uk-from-this-friday/1100-6417929/">enacted a price cut on the system in the UK</a>, and they're <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/">bundling free copies of Titanfall in current Xbox Ones</a>. While I'm always happy when consoles include a great pack-in game (and I sorely miss the old Nintendo days when you could expect your system to come included with a game you definitely want to play), adding it in after the fact is basically admitting, "This system is too expensive on its own."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417408" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417408/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">But having a clear second place contender is, ultimately, good for gamers. Microsoft isn't so far behind that they have to drop out, but they're far enough behind that it's a fight to keep up. And that struggle is what made the past year for the PS3 and the start of the PS4 so successful. If Microsoft's Xbox 360 hadn't pushed Sony to do better, the services, games, and pricing that Sony has in place now likely wouldn't be anywhere near as enticing and consumer-friendly--just remember back to how long it took the PS3 to integrate anything as good as Microsoft's multiplayer-friendly Live interface. And now Microsoft has to try and play catch-up, which means we're going to see big things from them in the near future.</p><p style="">And just in case you think I'm somehow insinuating that the Wii U's failure somehow spells the end of Nintendo, they're a company that has weathered far worse failures (see the GameCube and Virtual Boy). And I'd also remind you about a small <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/npd-3ds-outsells-xbox-360-ps3-in-august/1100-6414408/" data-ref-id="1100-6414408">money-printing machine called the 3DS.</a> We're going to see big changes from Nintendo in the future as well, but that's an entirely separate article.</p><p style="">What Microsoft does now won't have an immediate effect on their place (though it may help staunch the number of people leaving their Xbox 360 behind to upgrade to a PS4). But we'll start to see the small effects of their bigger picture initiatives over the next year. And what better position could we be in as gamers than having a company like Microsoft bending over backwards to try and win more people to their system?</p><p style="">No matter what console you bought (or are going to buy), it's going to keep getting better and better to be a gamer.</p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 12:03:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/advantage-ps4-why-sony-is-winning-the-console-war/1100-6418034/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-knocking-people-out/2300-6417454/ Thief is out this week, so Cam's here to investigate the most prevalent trope in stealth games: knocking out fools. But can you really non-lethally KO bad guys for hours at a time? Sun, 02 Mar 2014 12:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-knocking-people-out/2300-6417454/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/typing-of-the-dead-silver-screen-pack-out-in-time-for-oscars/1100-6418050/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446899-0826015517-ss_3c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446899" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446899-0826015517-ss_3c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446899"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446899-0826015517-ss_3c.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Just in time for the Oscars, Sega has released the Silver Screen pack for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-typing-of-the-dead-overkill/">Typing of the Dead: Overkill</a>, which replaces the game's default lexicon with famous movie titles, quotes, and names of actors.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is a reworked version of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-house-of-the-dead-overkill/">The House of the Dead: Overkill</a>, in which you type the words that appear on screen to kill zombies rather than fire at them with a light gun.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This isn't the first pack that Sega and developer Modern Dream have released for The Typing of the Dead: Overkill. In November of last year, they released a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shakespearean-dlc-comes-to-the-typing-of-the-dead-overkill/1100-6416400/">Shakespeare pack</a>, which swaps out the game's phrases to those that appear in Shakespeare's collected works. In December, they released the Filth pack, which added a bunch of really nasty words, and for last Valentine's Day it added the romantic Love at First Bite pack, filled with sweet nothings.</p><p style="">The Typing of the Dead: Overkill Silver Screen pack will set you back $3, is available to download from <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/282520/" rel="nofollow">Steam</a>, and requires the $20 full game.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 11:15:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/typing-of-the-dead-silver-screen-pack-out-in-time-for-oscars/1100-6418050/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-and-the-walking-dead/2300-6417481/ This week we get South Park: The Stick of Truth, Year Walk, Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition and The Walking Dead Season Two Episode Two. Sun, 02 Mar 2014 10:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-and-the-walking-dead/2300-6417481/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/3d-realms-apogee-acquired-by-interceptor-entertainment/1100-6418049/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446916-0239474862-24427.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446916" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446916-0239474862-24427.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446916"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446916-0239474862-24427.png"></a></figure><p style="">The Danish developer behind the recent <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/rise-of-the-triad/" data-ref-id="false">Rise of the Triad</a> reboot Interceptor Entertainment has acquired Apogee Software, which owns the 3D Realms brand, known for developing Duke Nukem 3D.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Interceptor Entertainment CEO Frederik Schreiber confirmed the news on <a href="https://twitter.com/Freschism/status/440172333353799682" rel="nofollow">his Twitter</a> account today, and said that more news will follow soon.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to Danish newspaper <a href="http://borsen.dk/nyheder/it/artikel/1/277836/danskere_koeber_computerspils-legenden_bag_duke_nukem.html" rel="nofollow">Børsen</a>, Mike Nielsen is the newly appointed CEO of Apogee Software and 3D Realms.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last month, Interceptor Entertainment's and 3D Realms' logo appeared on a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-duke-nukem-game-teased-for-playstation-and-pc/1100-6417484/">teaser website for Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction</a>, a top-down action role-playing game for PC and PlayStation. The site was counting down to Feb. 25, but has since been replaced with a fake emergency broadcast signal.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">On Feb. 23, Gearbox announced that it has filed suit against Apogee Software and Interceptor Entertainment over the companies' intentions to release Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction. Gearbox has owned<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gearbox-acquires-duke-nukem-ip/1100-6275307/"> the rights for the Duke Nukem IP</a> since 2010, when it bought them from Apogee. Gearbox helped bring Duke Nukem Forever to the finish line after more than a decade in development, and announced plans to develop other games in the franchise.</p><p style="">Neither Gearbox nor Interceptor Entertainment said how this will affect Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction, but Interceptor said it will have an official statement tomorrow.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 09:54:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/3d-realms-apogee-acquired-by-interceptor-entertainment/1100-6418049/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/share-your-library-of-games-with-steam-family-sharing/1100-6418048/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446873-2755530992-24466.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446873" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446873-2755530992-24466.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446873"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2446873-2755530992-24466.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Steam Family Sharing, a feature that allows friends and family to share their libraries of Steam games, is now available to all users, <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/groups/familysharing/announcements/detail/1425692185723666823" rel="nofollow">Valve has announced</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A user can make his library of Steam games available for others to access, download, and play on approved authorized accounts and devices. You may authorize Family Library Sharing on up to 10 devices at a given time, and for up to five accounts. Though simultaneous usage of an account is prohibited, the lender is always able to play their games at any time. If the player decides to start playing while a friend is borrowing a game, the friend will be given a "few minutes" to purchase the game or quit.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Individual members can earn their own achievements and keep their own saves and application data intact with Steam Cloud.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lenders can't access games that aren't available in their region or games that require a third-party key, account or subscription.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You should also be careful about who you share with. Family sharing privileges may be revoked and your account may be VAC (Valve's anti-cheat system) banned if your library is used by others to cheat.</p><p style="">You can find out more about Family Sharing and instruction on how to use the feature on <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/sharing/" rel="nofollow">Steam's website</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 07:19:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/share-your-library-of-games-with-steam-family-sharing/1100-6418048/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-s-terms-and-conditions-to-clarify-meaning-of-trolling/1100-6418047/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446860-1453018924-24248.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446860" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446860-1453018924-24248.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446860"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446860-1453018924-24248.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Mojang will change <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft/">Minecraft</a>'s terms and conditions to clarify the meaning of "trolling" after confusion about the term made one player think he had to remove his Minecraft videos from YouTube, Markus "Notch" Persson said on <a href="http://notch.net/2014/03/lets-talk-about-zexyzek/" rel="nofollow">his website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Minecraft player <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ZexyZek" rel="nofollow">ZexyZek has a YouTube channel</a> with over 700,000 subscribers. He makes a series of videos called Minecraft Trolling, where he'll join a server or invite players to his server and annoy them, scare them, destroy their creations, and basically raise hell in a variety of creative but not very mean ways.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Because we apparently have to have them, we have terms and conditions on how you can use Minecraft," Notch said. "Someone at some point added the term "no trolling" to these terms. I assume this was done in good faith to prevent Minecraft being used to harass or bully people, but 'trolling' is a very problematic term."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Apparently, ZexyZek noticed the rule and contacted Mojang to ask if trolling really wasn't allowed. Since that's what the rule says, the reply was "yes." ZexyZek then made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3H_4vKIUkU&list=UUrRaACbFpCLVtNnFyFTf_OA&feature=c4-overview" rel="nofollow">an emotional video</a> where he explained to his fans he won't be able to keep making Minecraft Trolling videos, which in turn led to Persson's inbox getting "flooded with nasty emails."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Content creators like ZexyZek and all the community their fanbases create is the reason Minecraft is where it is," Persson said. "I will ask the people in charge of the boring legal texts to clarify 'trolling' with better words. If they really did mean what was perceived, I will ask them to remove that line."</p><p style="">Finally, Persson said that ZexyZek can continue his series as long as it's not genuinely malicious.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 06:38:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-s-terms-and-conditions-to-clarify-meaning-of-trolling/1100-6418047/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-everquest-next-landmark-plans-to-make-money-without-annoying-you/1100-6418046/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446854-5958456374-24301.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446854" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446854-5958456374-24301.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446854"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446854-5958456374-24301.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Director of Development for the EverQuest franchise at SOE David Georgeson has laid out the five phases of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest-next-landmark/">EverQuest Next Landmark</a>'s monetization strategy.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"First of all, we are free-to-play," Georgeson said. "That means we have to entertain you before you decide whether to pay us or not. We like that burden of responsibility. We think it's cool and the right thing to do." Georgeson said that the majority of players in free-to-play games don't buy much, but that players who do will not invalidate the in-game economy to those who don't.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In its current, first phase, EverQuest Next Landmark is selling <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/everquest-next-landmark-alpha-available-now-to-owners-of-60-founder-s-pack/1100-6417475/">Founder's Packs,</a> giving those who are willing to pay early access to the game and some bonus items.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the second phase, which begin later in the alpha, SOE will start selling outfits and resources.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Phase three, which will also start in the alpha, will introduce the option to buy shortcuts, allowing you to buy some useful items instead of crafting them.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In phase four, starting in the closed beta, SOE will launch Player Studio, where players can buy and sell templates to other players.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Finally, at the end of the closed beta, SOE will add more, "bigger-ticket" items like cosmetic pets, sound and music packs, name and gender changes, extra claim flags, and more.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"There will be additions/subtractions from this plan as we go, but we strongly believe that we can support the game well in these positive manners without compromising the game's balance, economy, or fun," Georgeson said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can find more details on the game's monetization plans on <a href="https://forums.station.sony.com/eqnlandmark/index.php?threads%2Fthe-business-of-eqn-landmark-revealed.22393%2F" rel="nofollow">the official forums</a>, where Georgeson has also responded to several questions from fans.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on EverQuest Next Landmark, make sure to read <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/you-decide-the-future-of-everquest-next-landmark/1100-6417446/">our preview of its creation tools</a>.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 05:09:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-everquest-next-landmark-plans-to-make-money-without-annoying-you/1100-6418046/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-plays-pokemon-crystal-after-beating-pokemon-red/1100-6418045/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446841-pokemon+crystal.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446841" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446841-pokemon+crystal.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446841"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2446841-pokemon+crystal.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Early in the morning yesterday, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-plays-pokemon-collects-all-badges-enters-home-stretch/1100-6417981/">Twitch Plays Pokemon finally beat </a><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-red-version/">Pokemon Red</a>. Once the game was over, the stream let viewers play a variety of Gameboy games while a clock counted down to "a new adventure."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The anonymous Australian programmer who set up the stream said that he'll transition it to a second generation Pokemon game, but didn't say which one.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Now, the wait is over, and the new game is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-crystal-version/">Pokemon Crystal</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">More than 70,000 viewers tuned into the start of the new game. It's set for Anarchy mode for the first hour, but the player character, AJDNNW, has already picked Totodile as its first Pokemon.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The premise is the same: Twitch viewers can use the chat window to input commands. They're also able to balance the game by shifting control between an Anarchy mode (where every command from the chat is input into the game) and Democracy (where the most popular commands go through).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's safe to say that Twitch Plays Pokémon has been the biggest cultural phenomenon to strike Twitch all thanks to The Creator and You, our passionate and absolutely preposterous community," Twitch said on <a href="http://blog.twitch.tv/2014/03/twitch-prevails-at-pokemon/" rel="nofollow">its official blog</a>, where it also shared some impressive numbers.</p><p style="">In total, it took 1,165,140 people entering chat commands to beat the game in 16 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes, and 30 seconds. More than 122 million commands were issued. More than 36 million people watch the stream overall, hitting a peak of 121,000 simultaneous viewers.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Fwidgets%2Flive_embed_player.swf%3Fchannel%3Dtwitchplayspokemon&fv=hostname%3Dwww.twitch.tv%26start_volume%3D25%26channel%3Dtwitchplayspokemon%26auto_play%3Dfalse&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Ftwitchplayspokemon&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=application%2Fx-shockwave-flash&schema=twitch&wmode=opaque" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 04:17:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-plays-pokemon-crystal-after-beating-pokemon-red/1100-6418045/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-platforms-gets-critically-acclaimed-cloning-puzzle-game-the-swapper-in-may/1100-6418044/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446718-6979404457-20406.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446718" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446718-6979404457-20406.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446718"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446718-6979404457-20406.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Facepalm Games' The Swapper, a puzzle-platformer previously available only on the PC, is coming to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita as a Cross Buy title this year, Sony has announced on the <a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/02/26/clone-swapper-ps3-ps4-ps-vita/" rel="nofollow">PlayStation Blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Curve Studios, which previously created ports for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/thomas-was-alone/">Thomas Was Alone</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/proteus/">Proteus</a> (as well as its own <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/stealth-bastard/">Stealth Bastard</a>) will port The Swapper to PlayStation platforms. Sony has yet to announce what The Swapper will cost when it's released.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Swapper is set on a damaged space station and research facility, which was in part created with clay models, giving the game a dark, creepy look. You're able to create up to four clones of yourself, switch between them, and control them simultaneously in order to solve a variety of devious puzzles.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-swapper-review/1900-6408976/">Our review</a> of the PC version found that The Swapper was a smart, good-looking game with engaging puzzle mechanics and great atmosphere, if a little short.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6408985" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6408985/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 01 Mar 2014 17:57:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-platforms-gets-critically-acclaimed-cloning-puzzle-game-the-swapper-in-may/1100-6418044/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-gives-devs-tools-to-configure-steam-discounts-sales/1100-6418042/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446675-1517947464-22823.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446675" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446675-1517947464-22823.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446675"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2446675-1517947464-22823.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve has announced new tools that will allow developers to configure their own discounts for custom sale periods on Steam or opt in to take part in upcoming weeklong sales.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to an image of the announcement sent out to developers and posted to <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/1yy56p/steamwork_developers_now_can_self_discount_their/" rel="nofollow">Reddit</a>, to participate in weeklong deals, a developer can select from the upcoming promotions, up to two months ahead of time, and just enter the desired discount percentage.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Custom discounts can be set up two months in advance, and can run for up to two weeks at most. Developers can set the percentage of the discount here as well.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Steam sales have been known to be hugely profitable for some developers. Q-Games, for example, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/deep-discount-in-steam-sale-makes-q-games-a-lot-of-money/1100-6416887/">doubled its lifetime income</a> on the PC version of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/phoenix-cms/reviews/form?id=6195402/">PixelJunk Eden</a> after the game was featured in a flash sale as part of the 2013 Steam holiday sale.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">However, indie developer Jason Rohrer recently argued that "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sales-screw-your-fans-says-indie-dev/1100-6417177/">sales screw fans</a>" over the long-term, training them to wait for discounts rather than ever pay the full price for a game when it launches.</p><p style="">Either way, the new tools should at least give developers more control on when and by how much they discount their games, and might mean we'll see more discounts throughout the year.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 01 Mar 2014 14:29:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-gives-devs-tools-to-configure-steam-discounts-sales/1100-6418042/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 02 Mar 2014 21:17:40 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/loadout-s-billions-of-weapon-configurations-bring-in-two-million-players-in-two-weeks/1100-6418053/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447067-3117600593-24213.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447067" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447067-3117600593-24213.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447067"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2447067-3117600593-24213.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Over two million users signed up for free-to-play shooter <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/loadout/">Loadout</a> in its first 14 days of release, logging in over 9 million hours in the game, developer Edge of Reality has announced.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The developer said that Loadout has been so popular that it made getting into the game difficult on day one. Edge of Reality has since improved its infrastructure, but is still having trouble meeting demand.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Loadout's most notable feature is its weapon-crafting system, with over "44 billion possible variations" for players to assemble, allowing them to define their own class and play style.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The incredible surge of interest at launch shattered all our expectations, and it unfortunately just became too much for our servers to handle in the beginning," Edge of Reality CEO Rob Cohen said in a press release. "Very few Steam titles have reached the peak concurrent users we achieved upon release. We're committed to delivering an excellent game to our community, and we continue to work hard to ensure that our servers provide all our players with the same fluid, responsive, and enjoyable experience across the board."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/loadout-review/1900-6415663/">Our review</a> found that Loadout stands out against other shooters with its humor, entertaining multiplayer modes, and addictive weapon-crafting system.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417008" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417008/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com<br /></a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 16:35:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/loadout-s-billions-of-weapon-configurations-bring-in-two-million-players-in-two-weeks/1100-6418053/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-might-get-a-dlc-season-pass-pilot-only-mode-could-come-after-launch/1100-6418043/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446727-5179501631-24458.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446727" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446727-5179501631-24458.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446727"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446727-5179501631-24458.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Tonight during a special Microsoft Store event in Connecticut, <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> developer Respawn Entertainment explained that the upcoming game could get a DLC season pass and teased that a pilot-only mode may come sometime after launch.</p><p style="">Respawn community manager Abbie Heppe said cofounder <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-won-t-have-a-season-pass-or-split-screen-but-it-might-include-some-dinosaurs/1100-6418026/" data-ref-id="1100-6418026">Vince Zampella's tweet this week about the game not having a season pass</a> was a mistake. She clarified tonight that the game won't have an <em><strong>online pass</strong></em>, but said the company has nothing to announce--at least right now--regarding a <em><strong>season pass</strong></em>. Electronic Arts <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-killing-online-passes-for-existing-games/1100-6409065/" data-ref-id="1100-6409065">did away with online passes last year</a>.</p><p style="">A tweet from the official Titanfall Twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/Titanfallgame/status/439452664166752256" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">apologizes for the confusion</a>.</p><p style="">The season pass would presumably include access to various Titanfall DLC packs at a discounted rate compared to buying them individually. Though Respawn has yet to announce firm plans for post-release support for Titanfall, the developer said previously that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dlc-in-planning-stages-could-evolve-with-players/1100-6417412/" data-ref-id="1100-6417412">DLC for the game was in the planning stages</a>. Titanfall is a major multiplayer shooter, so significant add-on content should be expected.</p><p style="">Also during the special event tonight at the Westfarms Mall in West Hartford, Conn. Heppe said though a pilot-only multiplayer mode for Titanfall won't be available at release, "we'll see what happens after launch." The chief intrigue of Titanfall is its pilots vs. mechs gameplay, so a pilots-only mode would be a surprise.</p><p style="">Titanfall launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-launching-march-11-2014/1100-6415710/" data-ref-id="1100-6415710">March 11</a> for Xbox One and PC, with an Xbox 360 version--developed externally at Bluepoint Games--to follow on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-for-xbox-360-delayed/1100-6417577/" data-ref-id="1100-6417577">March 25</a>. Microsoft is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-throwing-huge-titanfall-launch-party-in-texas/1100-6418024/" data-ref-id="1100-6418024">throwing a huge party in Texas</a> to mark the game's release.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417279" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417279/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 16:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-might-get-a-dlc-season-pass-pilot-only-mode-could-come-after-launch/1100-6418043/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/play-batman-vs-superman-vs-many-other-dc-characters-in-infinite-crisis-open-beta-on-march-14/1100-6418052/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447034-3596726564-617px.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447034" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2447034-3596726564-617px.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2447034"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2447034-3596726564-617px.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The DC Comics multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/infinite-crisis/">Infinite Crisis</a> will start its open beta on March 14, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Turbine have announced.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Warner Bros. also said that it's adding three new Champions to the game: Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Mecha Superman. That brings Infinite Crisis to a total of 27 playable characters by the time the open beta begins.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Infinite Crisis is set across the 52 universes of the DC multiverse. So far Turbine has shown steampunk and post-apocalyptic-themed stages and characters. The newly announced Mecha Superman, a gigantic robot constructed of a crashed Kryptonian space probe, is a fine example of some of the more esoteric DC characters in the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Much like in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/league-of-legends/">League of Legends</a>, Infinite Crisis is free-to-play, giving you access to six Champions, three of which rotate out for new champions weekly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Turbine, which was founded in 1994 and is also responsible for MMO <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-online-helms-deep/">The Lord of the Rings Online</a>, recently announced some <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/layoffs-at-lord-of-the-rings-online-and-infinite-crisis-developer/1100-6417708/">layoffs at the studio</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417432" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417432/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 14:16:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/play-batman-vs-superman-vs-many-other-dc-characters-in-infinite-crisis-open-beta-on-march-14/1100-6418052/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/state-of-decay-lifeline-puts-you-in-control-of-the-military/1100-6418051/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446962-4693700544-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446962" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446962-4693700544-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446962"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446962-4693700544-20418.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Lifeline, the upcoming expansion for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/state-of-decay/">State of Decay</a>, will put you in control of a military unit with new objectives and abilities, developer Undead Labs announced on <a href="http://undeadlabs.com/2014/02/news/in-the-army-now/" rel="nofollow">its blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You'll control Greyhound One, a small military unit sent to the city of Danforth to rescue scientists whose research is critical to fighting the zombie outbreak. The game will start at the height of the crisis, when you still have access to off-map support from the military, but support will diminish with time as the situation deteriorates. This is opposite the progression structure in the original game, where you start off small and become increasingly stronger as you recruit more people and gather resources.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One of your first objectives will be to secure a landing zone and base where you can receive supply drops and extract civilians, a new goal in the game. Lifeline will also add new military facilities, defenses, weapons, and a new map.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"In zombie fiction, the military is often the go-to bad guy," Undead Labs said. "They're the hammer to which every problem is a nail, blindly mowing everything down to serve some unknown goal. But this view is fairly one-sided and naïve. On the State of Decay team, we have a different perspective (some of us firsthand) — the military is made up of many good men and women who stand on the line that divides safety and civilization from chaos and war."</p><p style="">Earlier this year, Undead Labs confirmed that it had signed a multi-year, multi-title agreement to extend its development relationship with Microsoft, leading to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/state-of-decay-dev-extends-partnership-with-microsoft/1100-6417066/">speculation of a possible State of Decay sequel</a>. For more on the game, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/state-of-decay/">GameSpot's review</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415049" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415049/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 13:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/state-of-decay-lifeline-puts-you-in-control-of-the-military/1100-6418051/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/advantage-ps4-why-sony-is-winning-the-console-war/1100-6418034/ <p style="">Just in case you're someone who's inclined to read the title of this opinion piece, skim the first paragraph, and then jump straight to the comments section, this is not a doom-and-gloom message for Microsoft. The Xbox One is selling really well, the Microsoft games division isn't about to go out of business, and the launch of the Xbox One has not been a complete disaster (though it's been a small one). But the Xbox One is in second place, and that's where it's going to stay for this console cycle.</p><p style=""> </p><p style="">Closer to the next-gen launch, I wrote about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-and-ps4-sales-numbers-don-t-matter-right-now-but-you-don-t-care/1100-6416542/">why the sales numbers didn't really matter</a>. Both the Xbox One and PS4 broke records out of the gate (mostly because more systems were initially available than at any previous console launch). But we knew back at the start of 2013 that consumers had a more positive perception of the PlayStation 4, and the chart below shows that the gulf in purchase intent between Microsoft and Sony's machine only grew larger prior to the systems' launches.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446941-7489552606-23953.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446941" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446941-7489552606-23953.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446941"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2446941-7489552606-23953.png"></a></figure><p style="">Those statistics were surprising, since, looking back on "last-gen," the Xbox 360 was always a clear front-runner in the US. But the above chart makes a little more sense when looking at the trajectory of the PS3. Neither Sony nor Microsoft release monthly console sales numbers, but while the Xbox 360 sold more units overall than the PS3 in the US in 2013. However, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-360-sales-reach-80-million-units/1100-6415644/">Sony broke Microsoft's 32-month first-place home console streak back in September of last year.</a></p><p style="">And those projections have so far proven to be accurate. While both next-gen consoles started out strong in November, the PS4 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-nearly-doubles-sales-of-the-xbox-one-in-the-us-in-january/1100-6417739/">nearly doubled sales of the Xbox One in January.</a> And with the PS4 now <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sold-320-000-units-in-japan-in-two-days/1100-6417944/">out in Japan and off to a solid start</a>, that gulf between Sony and Microsoft is only going to grow wider. Microsoft still has no set date for bringing their console to Japan, which doesn't <i>necessarily</i> mean they'll be outsold over there, but Microsoft has generally faced an uphill battle in Japan. Even the <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-26-wii-u-has-finally-overtaken-xbox-360-in-japan" rel="nofollow">Wii U is outperforming Microsoft's current Xbox 360 console in total sales</a>, which doesn't present a very rosy picture for future Japanese success. [Note: I still think the Wii U is a pretty great machine, but even <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-we-are-to-blame-for-poor-wii-u-sales/1100-6410425/">Nintendo has spoken out on its much lower than expected sales.]</a></p><p style="">Some (namely <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kinect-less-xbox-one-doesn-t-sound-very-likely/1100-6417933/">Microsoft</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-on-ps4-vs-xbox-one-its-a-marathon-not-a-sprint/1100-6415109/">Sony</a>) argue that console sales are a marathon, not a sprint, and getting an initial lead doesn't guarantee success. After all, the Xbox 360 had a year head start, yet the PS3 has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-3-crosses-80-million-sales/1100-6415987/">matched the Xbox 360 in total global sales</a>. But in any race, not everyone can be first, and for this generation of consoles, that honor is going to PS4. Here's why it happened, and in the end, why it'll actually make the Xbox better next time.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446945-8395119755-19907.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446945" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446945-8395119755-19907.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446945"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2446945-8395119755-19907.jpg"></a></figure><h3>The Games</h3><p style="">Sony has the potential for more exciting exclusive games than Microsoft.</p><p style="">Sure, <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> is getting a lot of hype right now for the Xbox One, but you have to use "exclusive" in a pretty broad sense--the game is also going to be out on 360 and PC. And developer Respawn is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-says-titanfall-sequels-could-come-to-playstation/1100-6416274/">keeping their options open for the inevitable Titanfall 2</a>.</p><p style="">But recently, Microsoft hasn't had a great track record with getting games that no other system has. The only notable exclusive for the Xbox 360 last year was <a href="/gears-of-war-judgment/" data-ref-id="false">Gears of War: Judgment</a>. And we'll inevitably have some more <a href="/halo-4/" data-ref-id="false">Halo</a> (although the original developer, Bungie, is now working on the multiplatform shooter <a href="/destiny/" data-ref-id="false">Destiny</a>). And the long-time favorite Fable series has more in the works (<a href="/fable-legends/" data-ref-id="false">Fable: Legends</a>), but the developer has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/peter-molyneux-quits-microsoft/1100-6364912/">lost their original creative director, Peter Molyneux</a>.</p><p style="">The best games for both the PS4 and Xbox One at launch were multiplatorm, but the PS3 last year had <a href="/beyond-two-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Beyond</a>, <a href="/dragons-crown/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon's Crown</a>, <a href="/puppeteer/" data-ref-id="false">Puppeteer</a>, and award-winning <a href="/the-last-of-us/" data-ref-id="false">The Last of Us</a>. It's impossible to know what new franchises both Sony and Microsoft will show at this year's E3, but with Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games, Sucker Punch Productions, ThatGameCompany, and more, Sony already has the advantage in strong-performing internal studios. [Editor's Note: While ThatGameCompany has currently only produced games for Sony consoles, they remain an independent developer.]</p><p style=""> </p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446942-9462592168-PlayS.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446942" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2446942-9462592168-PlayS.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446942"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2446942-9462592168-PlayS.jpg"></a></figure><h3>Services</h3><p style="">Ultimately, Microsoft banked on a future that most people don't care as much about: controlling your entertainment center with the power of your voice. For me personally, that's not a system seller; it's a novelty that only works perfectly 60% of the time and makes me want to use a physical controller every time it doesn't understand me. PlayStation, on the other hand, has focused on games.</p><p style="">And nowhere is that clearer than their subscription services. If you want to play online with either the PS4 or Xbox One, you'll need to pay a fee. But with PlayStation, you also get access to a library of free games. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-plus-free-games-of-march-for-ps4-ps3-and-vita/1100-6417993/">The offerings are significantly better on PS3 than PS4</a>, but for a PlayStation owner, the service almost pays for itself. Compare that to Xbox's Game with Gold, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/and-microsoft-s-free-xbox-360-games-for-march-are/1100-6418029/">offers much older titles for the Xbox 360</a> and still doesn't have any option for the Xbox One.</p><p style="">And <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/everything-we-know-about-playstation-now-so-far/1100-6417069/">PlayStation is rolling out a service that will bring PS3 titles to the PS4</a>. If the price is wrong, this will be a complete disaster, but the right mix of convenience, game selection, and price could potentially convince even more current PS3 owners to upgrade. Meanwhile Microsoft has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-full-power-of-xbox-one-not-yet-realized/1100-6416569/">talked a lot about integrating the cloud</a> into their strategy, but they've has been quiet on any plans similar to Sony's that would give players access to their back catalog of 360 and XBLA games on Xbox One.</p><h3>Performance</h3><p style="">The general perception is that the PlayStation is more powerful than the Xbox One. Hardware-wise, they're <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-vs-ps4-spec-difference-is-fairly-marginal-microsoft-says/1100-6417138/">not that different</a>, but <a href="/metal-gear-solid-ground-zeroes/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes</a> developer Kojima <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/resolutiongate-strikes-again-metal-gear-solid-v-ground-zeroes-said-to-look-better-on-ps4/1100-6417529/">says his game will look better on PS4</a>. And there's been a lot of argument around games like <a href="/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a> that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infinity-ward-cod-ghosts-is-720p-on-xbox-one-1080p-on-ps4/1100-6415873/">run natively in 1080p on PS4 vs. 720p on Xbox One.</a> Of course, the Xbox <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wolfenstein-the-new-order-is-1080p-60fps-on-xbox-one-and-ps4/1100-6417992/">can run games in 1080p and 60fps</a>, but with multiple titles coming in with lower native resolution on Xbox, Microsoft's machine has been publicly perceived as less powerful. We saw with the original Wii that more powerful hardware doesn't necessarily affect sales negatively--but Nintendo also had an amazing slate of exclusive first-party games for their system (like <a href="/super-mario-galaxy/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Galaxy</a>, <a href="/wii-sports/" data-ref-id="false">Wii Sports</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/mario-kart-wii/">Mario Kart Wii</a>). But when the experiences and games are almost identical like on Xbox One and PS4, people will gravitate to what seems like the better system for the money.</p><p style="">And that brings up the biggest deciding factor: price--the PS4 sells for $100 less than its competitor. When the core experience is perceived as being about the same (or slightly in favor of the lower-cost option) the less expensive choice is going to win out. Microsoft has even already <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-price-cut-to-ps399-99-in-the-uk-from-this-friday/1100-6417929/">enacted a price cut on the system in the UK</a>, and they're <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/">bundling free copies of Titanfall in current Xbox Ones</a>. While I'm always happy when consoles include a great pack-in game (and I sorely miss the old Nintendo days when you could expect your system to come included with a game you definitely want to play), adding it in after the fact is basically admitting, "This system is too expensive on its own."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417408" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417408/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">But having a clear second place contender is, ultimately, good for gamers. Microsoft isn't so far behind that they have to drop out, but they're far enough behind that it's a fight to keep up. And that struggle is what made the past year for the PS3 and the start of the PS4 so successful. If Microsoft's Xbox 360 hadn't pushed Sony to do better, the services, games, and pricing that Sony has in place now likely wouldn't be anywhere near as enticing and consumer-friendly--just remember back to how long it took the PS3 to integrate anything as good as Microsoft's multiplayer-friendly Live interface. And now Microsoft has to try and play catch-up, which means we're going to see big things from them in the near future.</p><p style="">And just in case you think I'm somehow insinuating that the Wii U's failure somehow spells the end of Nintendo, they're a company that has weathered far worse failures (see the GameCube and Virtual Boy). And I'd also remind you about a small <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/npd-3ds-outsells-xbox-360-ps3-in-august/1100-6414408/" data-ref-id="1100-6414408">money-printing machine called the 3DS.</a> We're going to see big changes from Nintendo in the future as well, but that's an entirely separate article.</p><p style="">What Microsoft does now won't have an immediate effect on their place (though it may help staunch the number of people leaving their Xbox 360 behind to upgrade to a PS4). But we'll start to see the small effects of their bigger picture initiatives over the next year. And what better position could we be in as gamers than having a company like Microsoft bending over backwards to try and win more people to their system?</p><p style="">No matter what console you bought (or are going to buy), it's going to keep getting better and better to be a gamer.</p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 12:03:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/advantage-ps4-why-sony-is-winning-the-console-war/1100-6418034/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-knocking-people-out/2300-6417454/ Thief is out this week, so Cam's here to investigate the most prevalent trope in stealth games: knocking out fools. But can you really non-lethally KO bad guys for hours at a time? Sun, 02 Mar 2014 12:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-knocking-people-out/2300-6417454/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/typing-of-the-dead-silver-screen-pack-out-in-time-for-oscars/1100-6418050/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446899-0826015517-ss_3c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446899" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446899-0826015517-ss_3c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446899"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446899-0826015517-ss_3c.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Just in time for the Oscars, Sega has released the Silver Screen pack for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-typing-of-the-dead-overkill/">Typing of the Dead: Overkill</a>, which replaces the game's default lexicon with famous movie titles, quotes, and names of actors.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is a reworked version of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-house-of-the-dead-overkill/">The House of the Dead: Overkill</a>, in which you type the words that appear on screen to kill zombies rather than fire at them with a light gun.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This isn't the first pack that Sega and developer Modern Dream have released for The Typing of the Dead: Overkill. In November of last year, they released a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shakespearean-dlc-comes-to-the-typing-of-the-dead-overkill/1100-6416400/">Shakespeare pack</a>, which swaps out the game's phrases to those that appear in Shakespeare's collected works. In December, they released the Filth pack, which added a bunch of really nasty words, and for last Valentine's Day it added the romantic Love at First Bite pack, filled with sweet nothings.</p><p style="">The Typing of the Dead: Overkill Silver Screen pack will set you back $3, is available to download from <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/282520/" rel="nofollow">Steam</a>, and requires the $20 full game.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 11:15:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/typing-of-the-dead-silver-screen-pack-out-in-time-for-oscars/1100-6418050/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-and-the-walking-dead/2300-6417481/ This week we get South Park: The Stick of Truth, Year Walk, Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition and The Walking Dead Season Two Episode Two. Sun, 02 Mar 2014 10:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-and-the-walking-dead/2300-6417481/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/3d-realms-apogee-acquired-by-interceptor-entertainment/1100-6418049/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446916-0239474862-24427.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446916" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446916-0239474862-24427.png" data-ref-id="1300-2446916"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446916-0239474862-24427.png"></a></figure><p style="">The Danish developer behind the recent <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/rise-of-the-triad/" data-ref-id="false">Rise of the Triad</a> reboot Interceptor Entertainment has acquired Apogee Software, which owns the 3D Realms brand, known for developing Duke Nukem 3D.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Interceptor Entertainment CEO Frederik Schreiber confirmed the news on <a href="https://twitter.com/Freschism/status/440172333353799682" rel="nofollow">his Twitter</a> account today, and said that more news will follow soon.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to Danish newspaper <a href="http://borsen.dk/nyheder/it/artikel/1/277836/danskere_koeber_computerspils-legenden_bag_duke_nukem.html" rel="nofollow">Børsen</a>, Mike Nielsen is the newly appointed CEO of Apogee Software and 3D Realms.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last month, Interceptor Entertainment's and 3D Realms' logo appeared on a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-duke-nukem-game-teased-for-playstation-and-pc/1100-6417484/">teaser website for Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction</a>, a top-down action role-playing game for PC and PlayStation. The site was counting down to Feb. 25, but has since been replaced with a fake emergency broadcast signal.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">On Feb. 23, Gearbox announced that it has filed suit against Apogee Software and Interceptor Entertainment over the companies' intentions to release Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction. Gearbox has owned<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gearbox-acquires-duke-nukem-ip/1100-6275307/"> the rights for the Duke Nukem IP</a> since 2010, when it bought them from Apogee. Gearbox helped bring Duke Nukem Forever to the finish line after more than a decade in development, and announced plans to develop other games in the franchise.</p><p style="">Neither Gearbox nor Interceptor Entertainment said how this will affect Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction, but Interceptor said it will have an official statement tomorrow.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 09:54:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/3d-realms-apogee-acquired-by-interceptor-entertainment/1100-6418049/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/share-your-library-of-games-with-steam-family-sharing/1100-6418048/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446873-2755530992-24466.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446873" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446873-2755530992-24466.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446873"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2446873-2755530992-24466.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Steam Family Sharing, a feature that allows friends and family to share their libraries of Steam games, is now available to all users, <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/groups/familysharing/announcements/detail/1425692185723666823" rel="nofollow">Valve has announced</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A user can make his library of Steam games available for others to access, download, and play on approved authorized accounts and devices. You may authorize Family Library Sharing on up to 10 devices at a given time, and for up to five accounts. Though simultaneous usage of an account is prohibited, the lender is always able to play their games at any time. If the player decides to start playing while a friend is borrowing a game, the friend will be given a "few minutes" to purchase the game or quit.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Individual members can earn their own achievements and keep their own saves and application data intact with Steam Cloud.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lenders can't access games that aren't available in their region or games that require a third-party key, account or subscription.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You should also be careful about who you share with. Family sharing privileges may be revoked and your account may be VAC (Valve's anti-cheat system) banned if your library is used by others to cheat.</p><p style="">You can find out more about Family Sharing and instruction on how to use the feature on <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/sharing/" rel="nofollow">Steam's website</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 07:19:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/share-your-library-of-games-with-steam-family-sharing/1100-6418048/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-s-terms-and-conditions-to-clarify-meaning-of-trolling/1100-6418047/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446860-1453018924-24248.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446860" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446860-1453018924-24248.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446860"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446860-1453018924-24248.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Mojang will change <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft/">Minecraft</a>'s terms and conditions to clarify the meaning of "trolling" after confusion about the term made one player think he had to remove his Minecraft videos from YouTube, Markus "Notch" Persson said on <a href="http://notch.net/2014/03/lets-talk-about-zexyzek/" rel="nofollow">his website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Minecraft player <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ZexyZek" rel="nofollow">ZexyZek has a YouTube channel</a> with over 700,000 subscribers. He makes a series of videos called Minecraft Trolling, where he'll join a server or invite players to his server and annoy them, scare them, destroy their creations, and basically raise hell in a variety of creative but not very mean ways.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Because we apparently have to have them, we have terms and conditions on how you can use Minecraft," Notch said. "Someone at some point added the term "no trolling" to these terms. I assume this was done in good faith to prevent Minecraft being used to harass or bully people, but 'trolling' is a very problematic term."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Apparently, ZexyZek noticed the rule and contacted Mojang to ask if trolling really wasn't allowed. Since that's what the rule says, the reply was "yes." ZexyZek then made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3H_4vKIUkU&list=UUrRaACbFpCLVtNnFyFTf_OA&feature=c4-overview" rel="nofollow">an emotional video</a> where he explained to his fans he won't be able to keep making Minecraft Trolling videos, which in turn led to Persson's inbox getting "flooded with nasty emails."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Content creators like ZexyZek and all the community their fanbases create is the reason Minecraft is where it is," Persson said. "I will ask the people in charge of the boring legal texts to clarify 'trolling' with better words. If they really did mean what was perceived, I will ask them to remove that line."</p><p style="">Finally, Persson said that ZexyZek can continue his series as long as it's not genuinely malicious.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 06:38:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-s-terms-and-conditions-to-clarify-meaning-of-trolling/1100-6418047/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-everquest-next-landmark-plans-to-make-money-without-annoying-you/1100-6418046/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446854-5958456374-24301.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446854" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446854-5958456374-24301.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446854"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446854-5958456374-24301.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Director of Development for the EverQuest franchise at SOE David Georgeson has laid out the five phases of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest-next-landmark/">EverQuest Next Landmark</a>'s monetization strategy.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"First of all, we are free-to-play," Georgeson said. "That means we have to entertain you before you decide whether to pay us or not. We like that burden of responsibility. We think it's cool and the right thing to do." Georgeson said that the majority of players in free-to-play games don't buy much, but that players who do will not invalidate the in-game economy to those who don't.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In its current, first phase, EverQuest Next Landmark is selling <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/everquest-next-landmark-alpha-available-now-to-owners-of-60-founder-s-pack/1100-6417475/">Founder's Packs,</a> giving those who are willing to pay early access to the game and some bonus items.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the second phase, which begin later in the alpha, SOE will start selling outfits and resources.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Phase three, which will also start in the alpha, will introduce the option to buy shortcuts, allowing you to buy some useful items instead of crafting them.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In phase four, starting in the closed beta, SOE will launch Player Studio, where players can buy and sell templates to other players.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Finally, at the end of the closed beta, SOE will add more, "bigger-ticket" items like cosmetic pets, sound and music packs, name and gender changes, extra claim flags, and more.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"There will be additions/subtractions from this plan as we go, but we strongly believe that we can support the game well in these positive manners without compromising the game's balance, economy, or fun," Georgeson said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can find more details on the game's monetization plans on <a href="https://forums.station.sony.com/eqnlandmark/index.php?threads%2Fthe-business-of-eqn-landmark-revealed.22393%2F" rel="nofollow">the official forums</a>, where Georgeson has also responded to several questions from fans.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on EverQuest Next Landmark, make sure to read <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/you-decide-the-future-of-everquest-next-landmark/1100-6417446/">our preview of its creation tools</a>.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 05:09:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-everquest-next-landmark-plans-to-make-money-without-annoying-you/1100-6418046/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-plays-pokemon-crystal-after-beating-pokemon-red/1100-6418045/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446841-pokemon+crystal.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446841" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446841-pokemon+crystal.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446841"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2446841-pokemon+crystal.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Early in the morning yesterday, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-plays-pokemon-collects-all-badges-enters-home-stretch/1100-6417981/">Twitch Plays Pokemon finally beat </a><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-red-version/">Pokemon Red</a>. Once the game was over, the stream let viewers play a variety of Gameboy games while a clock counted down to "a new adventure."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The anonymous Australian programmer who set up the stream said that he'll transition it to a second generation Pokemon game, but didn't say which one.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Now, the wait is over, and the new game is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-crystal-version/">Pokemon Crystal</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">More than 70,000 viewers tuned into the start of the new game. It's set for Anarchy mode for the first hour, but the player character, AJDNNW, has already picked Totodile as its first Pokemon.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The premise is the same: Twitch viewers can use the chat window to input commands. They're also able to balance the game by shifting control between an Anarchy mode (where every command from the chat is input into the game) and Democracy (where the most popular commands go through).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's safe to say that Twitch Plays Pokémon has been the biggest cultural phenomenon to strike Twitch all thanks to The Creator and You, our passionate and absolutely preposterous community," Twitch said on <a href="http://blog.twitch.tv/2014/03/twitch-prevails-at-pokemon/" rel="nofollow">its official blog</a>, where it also shared some impressive numbers.</p><p style="">In total, it took 1,165,140 people entering chat commands to beat the game in 16 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes, and 30 seconds. More than 122 million commands were issued. More than 36 million people watch the stream overall, hitting a peak of 121,000 simultaneous viewers.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Fwidgets%2Flive_embed_player.swf%3Fchannel%3Dtwitchplayspokemon&fv=hostname%3Dwww.twitch.tv%26start_volume%3D25%26channel%3Dtwitchplayspokemon%26auto_play%3Dfalse&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Ftwitchplayspokemon&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=application%2Fx-shockwave-flash&schema=twitch&wmode=opaque" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 02 Mar 2014 04:17:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-plays-pokemon-crystal-after-beating-pokemon-red/1100-6418045/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-platforms-gets-critically-acclaimed-cloning-puzzle-game-the-swapper-in-may/1100-6418044/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446718-6979404457-20406.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446718" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446718-6979404457-20406.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446718"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2446718-6979404457-20406.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Facepalm Games' The Swapper, a puzzle-platformer previously available only on the PC, is coming to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita as a Cross Buy title this year, Sony has announced on the <a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/02/26/clone-swapper-ps3-ps4-ps-vita/" rel="nofollow">PlayStation Blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Curve Studios, which previously created ports for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/thomas-was-alone/">Thomas Was Alone</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/proteus/">Proteus</a> (as well as its own <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/stealth-bastard/">Stealth Bastard</a>) will port The Swapper to PlayStation platforms. Sony has yet to announce what The Swapper will cost when it's released.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Swapper is set on a damaged space station and research facility, which was in part created with clay models, giving the game a dark, creepy look. You're able to create up to four clones of yourself, switch between them, and control them simultaneously in order to solve a variety of devious puzzles.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-swapper-review/1900-6408976/">Our review</a> of the PC version found that The Swapper was a smart, good-looking game with engaging puzzle mechanics and great atmosphere, if a little short.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6408985" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6408985/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 01 Mar 2014 17:57:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-platforms-gets-critically-acclaimed-cloning-puzzle-game-the-swapper-in-may/1100-6418044/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-gives-devs-tools-to-configure-steam-discounts-sales/1100-6418042/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446675-1517947464-22823.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446675" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2446675-1517947464-22823.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2446675"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2446675-1517947464-22823.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve has announced new tools that will allow developers to configure their own discounts for custom sale periods on Steam or opt in to take part in upcoming weeklong sales.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to an image of the announcement sent out to developers and posted to <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/1yy56p/steamwork_developers_now_can_self_discount_their/" rel="nofollow">Reddit</a>, to participate in weeklong deals, a developer can select from the upcoming promotions, up to two months ahead of time, and just enter the desired discount percentage.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Custom discounts can be set up two months in advance, and can run for up to two weeks at most. Developers can set the percentage of the discount here as well.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Steam sales have been known to be hugely profitable for some developers. Q-Games, for example, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/deep-discount-in-steam-sale-makes-q-games-a-lot-of-money/1100-6416887/">doubled its lifetime income</a> on the PC version of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/phoenix-cms/reviews/form?id=6195402/">PixelJunk Eden</a> after the game was featured in a flash sale as part of the 2013 Steam holiday sale.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">However, indie developer Jason Rohrer recently argued that "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sales-screw-your-fans-says-indie-dev/1100-6417177/">sales screw fans</a>" over the long-term, training them to wait for discounts rather than ever pay the full price for a game when it launches.</p><p style="">Either way, the new tools should at least give developers more control on when and by how much they discount their games, and might mean we'll see more discounts throughout the year.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a><br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 01 Mar 2014 14:29:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-gives-devs-tools-to-configure-steam-discounts-sales/1100-6418042/
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